Page:Tragedies of Seneca (1907) Miller.djvu/340

And those monsters[1] huge which never yet
Were in the ocean plunged, shall soon
Within the all engulfing sea
Be swallowed up. And that huge Snake,
Which like a winding river glides 870
Between the Bears, shall fall from heaven;[2]
United with that serpent huge,
The Lesser Bear, congealed with cold,
And that slow driver of the Wain
No longer stable in its course,
Shall all in common ruin fall.
Have we, of all the race of men, 875
Been worthy deemed to be o'erwhelmed
And buried 'neath a riven earth?
Is this our age the end of all?
Alas, in evil hour of fate
Were we begotten, wretched still,
Whether the sun is lost to us 880
Or banished by our impious sins!
But away with vain complaints and fear:

Eager for life is he who would not die,
Though all the world in death around him lie.

ACT V

Atreus [entering exultingly]: The peer of stars I move, high over all, 885

And with exalted head attain the heavens!
Now are the reins of power within my hands,
And I am master of my father's throne.
I here renounce the gods, for I have gained
The height of my desires. It is enough,
And even I am satisfied. But why?
Nay, rather, will I finish my revenge,
And glut the father with his feast of death. 890
The day has fled, lest shame should hold me back;
Act then, while yet the darkness veils the sky.
Oh, that I might restrain the fleeing gods,
And force them to behold the avenging feast!